Thief left disfigured after urine sets off explosion at UK power plant

A MAN was sentenced to a year in prison for attempting to rob a UK power substation that exploded when he urinated against a transformer.

Michael Harper, 36, was permanently disfigured after suffering serious burns in the blast at the electricity substation under a railway arch in Leicester, central England, The Leicester Mercurysaid today.

The father of two was left burning on the floor by his accomplice, 50-year-old Richard Boyce, who tried to drive off but later was found by police with blistered hands.

The incident last March also left 2000 homes and businesses without power and caused £26,500 ($42,000) damage as the two men tried to take metal from the station last March.

Harper was jailed for a year after pleading guilty to burglary and criminal damage at Leicester Crown Court, while Boyce was sentenced to four years in jail.

Recorder Michael Stephens told Harper that he had "suffered a punishment, it seems to me, already" at the sentencing.

"You were seriously injured and very nearly lost your life and will be permanently disfigured," Stephens said.

Prosecutor Sian Cutter said Boyce told police the explosion happened when Harper urinated against the transformer. Boyd also told police the two went to the station to take heroin, she said.

Cutter added that the explosion set fire to oil that Boyd, who claimed to have knowledge as an electrician, drained from inside the conductors to insulate against electrical changes.